Thanks to smart state and federal policies, an environmentally minded population, a robust energy infrastructure and ample sunshine, California now has more than half of all the solar rooftops in America.

One hundred thousand of those are in PG&E’s service territory.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and PG&E often represent very different interests in the energy community. We have not always agreed on major issues, but we do agree that solar is a key part of our energy future.

In some states, solar power is becoming a divisive issue, with utilities pitted against solar power companies and customers who choose not to install rooftop solar lined up against solar households.

Here in California we need to work together to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We’re convinced it’s possible to benefit all of us through a clean, efficient, reliable, affordable and resilient electric system.

With costs falling, the pace of solar adoption is quickening. Customers are connecting more than 2,000 new solar rooftops to PG&E’s grid every month.

Rooftops are only part of the story. PG&E has contracted to buy solar power from seven of the 10 largest solar power projects under construction in the world.

We recognize the benefits we all get from the solar revolution. Investments in solar contribute to making our air cleaner and reducing the carbon pollution put into the atmosphere.

The past couple of decades have seen a surge in clean energy innovations in addition to solar, including ever smarter and more efficient appliances, electric cars and new storage technologies. As these new technologies come on line and the amount and diversity of clean energy technologies increase, the infrastructure to support these new resources needs to adapt as well.

The grid was designed to deliver a stable supply of power from distant power plants to our homes and businesses, not necessarily to distribute variable power from house to house or town to town. We need a modernized grid that can accommodate ever more solar and wind, electric vehicles, and batteries distributed across the system and that is more efficient and resilient.

Our electricity grid is a twin balancing act of physics and governance. Rooftop solar customers make use of that grid, sending excess power onto the grid during the day and taking power from the grid at night. That same grid is a resource used by all in nearly every facet of life at home, work and play.

We need policies and planning that maximize the value of the grid for everyone — those who install solar and other clean energy resources and their neighbors.

Clear regulations and stable policies from the state help create the investment climate that keeps our green economy growing. We need strong state leadership at every level that understands the benefits of the green economy.

There are many positive precedents to encourage us. Among them is the recent passage of AB 327, which will help rooftop solar continue to grow. That legislation provides the California Public Utilities Commission the authority to establish a fair and equitable regulatory structure responsive to growth and a mandate to ensure that the costs of utility services are allocated fairly.

PG&E and the Natural Resources Defense Council are committed to working together to make sure the 100,000th solar roof is followed by many more solar and other clean energy milestones. Together with the solar industry and our government, nonprofit and corporate partners, we can build an even brighter solar future for California.

Peter Miller is senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Steve Malnight is vice president for customer energy solutions at PG&E. They wrote this for this newspaper.

In closed door talks, Sen. Dianne Feinstein agreed to a major new water policy for California that sells out the Delta and guts Endangered Species Act protections. Sen. Barbara Boxer is fighting the good fight to remove the rider from her comprehensive water infrastructure bill, but it may take a presidential veto.